Demand surging for Silversea on West African itineraries out of Cape Town
Silversea is experiencing a resurgence of demand for its West African itineraries out of Cape Town, after they were reinstated in 2025 following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The luxury cruise line first started sailing the West African coast in 2011, but suspended the service in 2020 during the Coronavirus outbreak, which shut down the global cruise industry for much of the year and created disruption to itineraries long after it was declared over.
Conrad Combrink, Senior Vice President, Expeditions, Destination & Itinerary Management at Silversea, told TTG Asia that passengers had been waiting for the return of the West Africa programme since it was put on hold.
He added that the “unique” itinerary gives guests access to places that are “almost impossible to get to on their own”, due to their remote and exotic locations, while also taking passengers up close with the immense variety of cultures and landscapes on the continent.
“In a single trip, we will visit Namibia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, and more,” said Combrink. He added that guests will not only discover African wildlife, but also uncover charming facets of African culture and way of life.
The 40-day Cape Town to Lisbon Grand Voyage aboard Silver Wind departs on April 3rd, 2025. The ship will call in 23 ports in 14 countries, including Walvis Bay, Bom Bom Island, Pointe Noire, and Lomé and Tema, where it will stay overnight, before concluding on May 13th in Portugal.
Silversea has also returned to Cape Town as a homeport, with Silver Spirit spending the 2024/25 cruise season in Africa, sailing 15-night roundtrip voyages from the Mother City. These itineraries visit the South African ports of Port Elizabeth, East London, Richard’s Bay, and Durban, as well as Luderitz and Walvis Bay in Namibia.
In March, 2025 when Silver Spirit wraps up her South African season, the ship will sail a 16-night voyage to Mahe in the Seychelles. Departing March 9th, the cruise visits Mossel Bay in South Africa, as well as Maputo, Nosy Be and Diego Suarez in Mozambique, and Praslin Island and La Digue in the Seychelles.
This repositioning voyage can also be booked as a Grand Voyage of 32-nights from Cape Town to Doha, Qatar.
On March 11th, another Silversea ship, Silver Dawn, will also sail a West African itinerary from Cape Town, visiting Namibia, Angola, Ghana, Gambia, Senegal, and the Canary Islands on her way to Lisbon, Portugal.
The 23-night itinerary is also bookable as a longer 32-night cruise to Southampton.
“Our ships are all about understated luxury,” says Combrink. “We combine (the hardware) with very true, very unique destination experiences led by expedition staff who are extremely well trained. Most of our expedition staff work permanently or exclusively for Silversea, which means that their commitment to the destination, our company, and our guest is unique in many ways.”
